Visualize Live FTP Data in Power BI (via CData Connect AI)

Power BI transforms your company's data into rich visuals for you to collect and organize so you can focus on what matters to you. When paired with CData Connect AI, you get access to FTP data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to use CData Connect to create a live connection to FTP, connect to FTP data from Power BI and then create reports on FTP data in Power BI.

Configure FTP Connectivity for Power BI

Connectivity to FTP from Power BI is made possible through CData Connect AI. To work with FTP data from Power BI, we start by creating and configuring a FTP connection.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "FTP" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to FTP.

   To connect to FTP or SFTP servers, specify at least RemoteHost and FileProtocol. Specify the port with RemotePort.

   Set User and Password to perform Basic authentication. Set SSHAuthMode to use SSH authentication. See the Getting Started section of the data provider help documentation for more information on authenticating via SSH.

   Set SSLMode and SSLServerCert to secure connections with SSL.

   The data provider lists the tables based on the available folders in your FTP server. Set the following connection properties to control the relational view of the file system:

   • RemotePath: Set this to the current working directory.
   • TableDepth: Set this to control the depth of folders to list as views.
   • FileRetrievalDepth: Set this to retrieve and list files recursively from the root table.

   Stored Procedures are available to download files, upload files, and send protocol commands. See the Data Model chapter of the FTP data provider documentation for more information.

   
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add FTP Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to FTP data from Power BI.

Query FTP Tables

Follow the steps below to build a query to pull FTP data into the report:

1. Open Power BI Desktop and click Get Data -> Online Services -> CData Connect AI and click "Connect"
2. Click "Sign in" and authenticate with your CData Connect AI account
3. After signing in, click "Connect"
4. Select tables in the Navigator dialog
5. Click Load to establish the connection to your FTP data from Power BI

Create FTP Data Visualizations

After connecting to the data into Power BI, you can create data visualizations in the Report view by dragging fields from the Fields pane onto the canvas. Select the dimensions and measures you wish to visualize along with the chart type.

Click Refresh to synchronize your report with any changes to the data.

Live Access to FTP Data from Data Applications

With CData Connect AI you have a direct connection to FTP data from Power BI. You can import more data, create new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating FTP data.

To get SQL data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources (including FTP) directly from your on-premise BI, reporting, ETL and other data applications, visit the CData Connect AI page and start a free trial.